


believe

by EchoSherry



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: M/M, Steve is trying, Underage Drinking, billy is emotional and drunk, referenced first kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-04-19
Packaged: 2020-01-16 15:04:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18523972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoSherry/pseuds/EchoSherry
Summary: Billy and Steve get drunk and emotional at two in the morning.





	believe

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language and I wasn't born in the 80s.  
> Feedback and comments are appreciated<3  
> this work was posted on tumblr as well (under sherrypearlmoon).

Steve wasn’t sleeping. It was two am and he wasn’t considering sleeping, in fact, sleeping was impossible considering where he was. Instead of sleeping, he was lying on the hard floor, processing what he did to end up with Billy swinging his fist in the air before it lands on the side of his face again aside from drinking. Instead of sleeping, Steve’s cheek was pressed against the floor, staring at the empty scenery in front of him when Billy’s fist didn’t fill it.

He was wondering why the punches that threatened him felt as light as a feather, and why caring for people made him feel responsible for them in ways he didn’t intend.

He was watching Billy’s tears filling his eyes again, his fist stuck midair and wondered about the many ways a human can feel pain. He considered the different reactions Billy could’ve had to Steve making a poor attempt at kissing him. As he watched the fight in the other boy’s eyes, he had to admit that watching Billy Hargrove cry was not one of them.

–

Flashes of red and blue were dancing in his view to the loud noises in his head while he felt his hands throbbing with pain.

To his credit, he knew he didn’t land more than a couple of hits on Harrington’s face. Still, the pain and regret eating on his chest from the inside didn’t stop at the thought as it held his hand frozen in the air.  _You have good in you too;_ the memory of their drunken conversation came to his mind blurred instead of hearing it as he swallowed hard trying to control his shaking breath.

His escape was not supposed to be Steve Harrington or the front of his house. He needed time, to convince himself leaving wasn’t the worst decision he made his whole life, to get used to the idea of being away from his dad, he needed a drink or two, or a lot more than that. Steve being there wasn’t a part of the plan, Steve wasn’t supposed to find him and keep him company. He recognized the tears that were filling his vision as a tear slid down his cheek, a feeling he was too familiar with. Only their breathes filled the air for a moment before he flinched to the memory of his dad’s voice,  _faggot_.

A moment passed and the air in his lungs was released with difficulty as he lowered his fist but he doesn’t move otherwise. Billy opened his mouth but no words would come out, not the apology nagging in his head, nor the explanation stuck in his throat.  _My dad would beat me, so I beat you instead._ He realized a laugh escaped his mouth when Steve’s eyes widened with confusion.

His fist itched again as he stared back at Harrington.  _Respect and responsibility,_ he heard himself thinking and controlling his reaction was getting harder.  _I’m not a fag,_ threatened to come out,  _I’m no good for you,_ burned his chest till it stopped dead on his tongue. Instead, his eyes looked up to the furthest point in the horizon before standing up.

It didn’t feel right, not the confusion and regret confusing his heart rate nor the burn in his heart all the way up to his throat. The anger and rage controlled his head in a different way than it did yesterday and he knew, he had to escape now.

It all faded as warmth gripped onto his hand, and the older male was the center of his vision again. He stared at Billy, trying to look older and more experienced than he was. Bad things happen to me too, Steve looked slightly shocked by the strength of his voice for a moment.

_Wanna die, Harrington?_ Billy stepped forward to say but Steve beat him to the talking. ‘I don’t know what caused this but I felt it too, the emptiness, I was a bully before too–‘ the words died on his tongue as if Billy was supposed to understand what Steve was trying to say, he wouldn’t admit it but Billy understood. Though he wasn’t about to tell Harrington it wasn’t emptiness, it was pain.

‘You can’t fix everything, Harrington,’ Billy half yelled as he started walking away again, ‘not when I’m the problem’. He flashed a smirk at Steve as he started walking away towards a house that wasn’t his home.

Billy could imagine Steve’s embarrassment about their drunken argument already, and he decided he needed to witness that. Eventually, he will escape, he promises, but not as long as Steve Harrington is there to keep him entertained.


End file.
